I wasjust wondering on the saftey issue with having a balcony room with small children? YES I am a very good parent and will watch my child well but are they able to open the slider or is the balcony high enough that they wont fall over you know those kinds of things.....Should I buy one of those hand holders while we are walking around?I dont really like them and im not sure if shed even let me use it but if it works then maybe I should pick one up!!!Any help will be great..Thank you ..........................Shelly

Shelly,
I'm 6'2" and the rails come up past my waist line. The only way you can fall over, is to climb over them or jump. My wife is 5'.0" and its just right for her to prop up on for sight seeing . So, yes ! I would not be worried about a child falling overboard.
But I couldn't leave him/her out there alone either. Thats just me.
happy cruising;
david

Shelly,
My family and I just got of a cruise and we have 16 month old boy who is of course very active. We had a balcony and I would say it was very safe. The railing was about 4' tall, well above his head. The door to the balcony was very heavy, it was a little hard for me to open. I thought about the wrist band and ended up going with out one and felt very secure and safe no matter where we were on the ship. I hope you have a wonderful time.
Christina

Thank You both for the info I feel better now.My daughter is 3 and well behaved and listens most of the time but she is still a curious child ....... I guess I dont need the hand holder then........Thanks again.......Shelly

I have two hand holders, my left and my right. I would not get a balcony with my kids. I would be afraid to leave the cabin and come back to find one missing. If they fall off the balcony at a hotel at least you know where to look. Off the ship and they will be lost forever.

Shelly just make sure that your youngster doesn't stand on a lounge chair to get high up and look over the railing. The balcony doors are not easy to push open, so it would be unlikely ( although never impossible) for your little one to get out on her own.
And Dave who on earth would leave a three year old alone in a cabin!!!
Have fun!

My suggestion, if you're going on a ship that has this category, is to book a category 6E family room up on the one of the tops decks. It has a floor to ceiling, wall to wall window. You can sit there and look out just as though you were on a balcony. The only things missing are the sound of the waves and the ocean breeze but MUCH safer with young children. Those cabins are about 230 sq. ft as opposed to the balcony cabins which are 185 sq. ft.

There is a deadbolt lock at the very top of the balcony door. You can just leave it locked at all times (except when you're on the balcony, of course) and your child will not be able to go on the balcony without you.

Those large windows are nice, but being able to walk on the balcony is WONDERFUL!

PG, not me. My kids aren't 3 anymore. But they are 7 and 11. Sometimes after they go to sleep I may go out on deck or back to the bar. It is peace of mind to know they will still be inside when I get back. Sometimes they want to watch a movie or hang out in the cabin during the day if they are not in Adventure Ocean.

Just please know that the chairs and lounges are right next to the railing - small balcony and no where else to put them so it is very very easy to climb up on a chair and be at more of a height to go over the balcony. The three year olds that I know will find a way to climb up and unlock the deadbolt on the balcony door and at least try their hardest to open it and would probably get on a chair to look over balcony - they love to climb! Anyway if you are there with them as I'm sure you would be and I'm sure you wouldn't leave a 3 year old alone although with what I have seen with parents on cruises most would - then it would be somewhat safe but you will have to be on your guard at all times. I walked more than 1/2 way around the huge pool on the top deck of an RCL ship on the concrete around the edge of the pool following a waddling child in a diaper (obviously less than 2 years old) to make sure it was ok when finally a man ran in front of me and grabbed the child like I was going to obduct it - now where the heck were the parents to let a less than 2 year old walk on the concrete on the edge of the pool and not notice he was missing for 5 minutes????? You will unfortuantely see most parents let their children no matter how old run wild on the ships - we avoid any holiday that has a lot of families with kids. I'm sure you are not like that but you will encounter those who are.. Debbie

My boys are 7 and everytime we have a hotel room w/ balcony I lock it and tell them they cannot go out there without a parent. I would not leave them alone either even at their age because boys are curious and climbers and have no fear or understanding of what it means to fall over the rail. They seem to think they will just get back up! We have a suite for our first cruise in March and they will not be allowed out on the balcony w/o one of us but I wont take the chance that they will abide by that rule so I wont leave them unsupervised either. I hope Camp Carnival will keep tight reins on them too.

Thank You all for your imput .I will not be letting my child/ren run amuck they are great kids( as everyones are right) but im an even better parent so I promise all of you on our ship you have no worries about shellys children because thye dont like to be imbarrased and im great at doing that.... Thanks again!! Shelly

I've had balconies and love them, however my ds is grown and my dd is 16. My only concern with a balcony and small children would be this:

1) Can small children climb through the slats?
2) The chairs can be moved around and a small child could possibly climb up on them and over the rail.
3) Children will sometime lock parent's out on the balcony without knowing how to let them back inside the cabin.

The stateroom door leading out to the balcony has a safety lock that is located approximately 65" from the floor.*Safety lock on room door out to balcony. Applicable ships: Destiny, Triumph, Victory, Conquest, Glory, Legend and Sensation.*